Newmarket tax rate drops $1.64

NEWMARKET — Property owners in Newmarket will see a decrease in their property taxes of about 6 percent with the recently set 2012 tax rate.

The tax rate for 2012 is $23.67 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or a decrease of $1.64 from the 2011 tax rate of $25.31 per $1,000.

The town portion of the rate decreased from last year by 96 cents, or 14 percent; though the state portion itself increased by 3 percent the combined state and local education rates decreased by a total of 83 cents, or two percent compared to the 2011 rates; and the county portion decreased by on percent from $1.04 in 2011 to $1.03.

While Town Administrator Steve Fournier was not available Thursday afternoon for comment, the reductions are explained in a news release as due to “decreased appropriations as well as the use of $486,000 of unreserved fund balance to offset any increases.”

The average homeowner with a home value estimated at about $250,000 will see a decrease of $410 from $6,327 in 2011 to $5,917.50 this year.

Tax bills will be mailed next week as they are due at the time the new rate is set by the Department of Revenue Administration, though the proximity to t e holiday season is not lost on Fournier.

“We understand the difficulty on residents by having the tax bills due during the holidays and apologize for the inconvenience. However, state law sets the dates when bills are due according to when our tax rate is set,” he wrote.